# Corticothalamic circuits mediating behavioral adaptations to unexpected reward omission

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2024 · $601,146

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Environmental cues that are associated with food develop attractive and motivational properties that elicit
reward-seeking behaviors in animals. However, when food-associated cues no longer lead to rewards, animals
quickly adjust their behaviors by showing a transient increase of reward-seeking responses (invigoration) and a
set of behavioral responses that resemble frustrative behaviors in humans. Repeated exposure to reward
omission leads to behavioral attenuation that serves to suppress unproductive appetitive responses. Although
significant progress has been made in elucidating the brain structures that regulate the acquisition and the
extinction of reward-seeking responses, the neural circuits and brain mechanisms that control changes in
behavioral responses during the initial phase of reward omission remain elusive. Emerging evidence suggests
that neurons in the anterior portion of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (aPVT) are activated by reward-
associated cues and contribute to the regulation of emotional responses during unexpected omission of reward.
Whereas activity in the aPVT to nucleus accumbens pathway decreases reward seeking, activity in the aPVT to
central amygdala pathway increases it, suggesting that the aPVT is a potential candidate to regulate behavioral
invigoration during reward omission. Here we propose to study how cortical and subcortical inputs to the aPVT
regulate the dynamic activity of projection-defined aPVT neurons during reward omission. Using in vitro
electrophysiology, we will study the intrinsic properties and synaptic dynamics of distinct aPVT neurons and their
afferents. Using a food-seeking task in which rats are exposed to reward omission, we will investigate the
neuronal activity patterns of aPVT neurons in vivo, and correlate their activity with the animal's behavior during
the test. Subsequent gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments will test the sufficiency and necessity of
distinct aPVT afferents. These experiments will provide insights into the neural circuits that detect changes in
reward availability and rapidly adjust animals' behavior during the initial phase of reward omission.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10886818
- **Project number:** 5R01MH131570-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Beierlein
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $601,146
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-13 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10886818

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10886818, Corticothalamic circuits mediating behavioral adaptations to unexpected reward omission (5R01MH131570-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10886818. Licensed CC0.

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